Men's Basketball Upends Sacred Heart, 86-71

Feb 05, 2010

FAIRFIELD,
Conn. - James Feldeine (New York, N.Y.) scored 27 points, while
Justin Rutty (Newburgh, N.Y.) and Jonathan Cruz (Lawrence, Mass.)
added double-doubles as the Quinnipiac men's basketball team scored
a road victory at Sacred Heart, 86-71, Thursday night at the
William H. Pitt Center. Rutty scored 22 points and grabbed 10
rebounds for his Quinnipiac Division I record 22nd
career double-double, while Cruz had 11 points and 11 rebounds in
compiling his first career double-double. With the win, the Bobcats
improve to 15-7 (9-2 NEC), including an undefeated 12-0 in the
state of Connecticut. The 15 wins match their win total from each
of the past two seasons. The Pioneers fall to 12-10 (5-6 NEC).

Ryan Litke
led the Pioneers with 19 points, including 5-for-11 shooting from
long range, while Liam Potter added 15 points. The Bobcats' James
Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) held the NEC's leading scorer and
three-point shooter, Corey Hassan, to just eight points on 4-for-15
shooting, including 0-for-3 from long range. Hassan came into the
game averaging 21.4 points per game and shooting 41.7 percent from
long range, with a league-best 78 made three-point field goals.
Hassan was coming off a 36-point performance in which he hit
10-of-12 three-pointers Saturday at Wagner.

"Hard work
and maturity by James Feldeine in preparing for tonight," said
Quinnipiac Head Coach Tom Moore. "He came in Tuesday night and
Wednesday night and got up extra shots after school and after
practice. We got incredible selflessness by James Johnson. He just
totally gave up his entire night to get into Corey Hassan and stay
with him wherever he goes. It was scary watching Hassan go
10-for-12 from three in the Wagner tape in preparation for this
game, but I knew my guy would do a much better job on him. I had no
idea that he would hold him to 0-for-3 from three. That's a
phenomenal accomplishment by a defender in this guy, Corey Hassan's
home court. Just great efforts from both of those guys on opposite
ends of the floor."

The Bobcats
shot a season-high 60.0 percent (33-55) from the field, their first
effort of 60 percent or better since Dec. 19, 2007, against
Dartmouth. Meanwhile, the Bobcats held the NEC's most potent
shooting team in both field-goal percentage (.452) and three-point
field-goal percentage (.419) entering the game to just 39.4 percent
(26-66) and 38.1 percent (8-21), respectively. The Bobcats shot
42.9 percent (3-7) from long range, and outshot the Pioneers from
the free-throw line, 77.3 percent (17-22) to 73.3 percent (11-15).
Quinnipiac outrebounded its 22nd consecutive opponent to
begin the season, taking a 39-26 advantage on the boards against
the league's second-best team in rebounding margin (+5.6) entering
the game.

After the
Pioneers scored the game's first points on a Thompson jumper from
the left elbow, the Bobcats scored seven straight points and never
trailed following Feldeine's fast-break lay-up that made it 4-2 at
the 17:19 mark. Sacred Heart pulled back to within two points at
9-7, and after the two teams traded buckets, Quinnipiac went on a
12-0 run to take a 23-9 lead at the 10:51 mark. Rutty converted
four straight buckets in the paint in the run.

The lead
extended to 17 points, 33-16, on Dave Johnson's (Jackson, N.J.)
lay-up at the 4:38 mark. Sacred Heart responded before the half,
scoring 10 straight points, including eight from Litke, in just
more than a minute. The Pioneers looked to have cut the Bobcats'
advantage to six, but Hassan missed a wide-open fast-break dunk
with 28 seconds to go. The miss led to a Feldeine three-pointer on
the other end, and Jamee Jackson (Newark, N.J.) added a free throw
to give the Bobcats a 40-28 lead heading into the locker room at
halftime.

Feldeine led
the Bobcats with 14 points at the break, while Rutty added 10
points and six rebounds in just 10 foul-plagued minutes. Cruz
provided a spark for the Bobcats, contributing five points and
eight rebounds. Litke led the Pioneers with 11 first-half points.
The Bobcats shot 56.7 percent (17-30) from the field in the first
half, while holding SHU to 32.4 percent (12-37).

The Bobcats
and Pioneers meet again Saturday in Hamden to complete their NEC
Rivalry Week series. Opening tip from the TD Bank Sports Center is
scheduled for 3 p.m.